REUTERS - Bill Gates has returned to the top of Forbes magazine's annual list of the world's richest people, as rising stock markets swelled the ranks of billionaires, which included a record number of women.

With a net worth of $76 billion, the Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) co-founder reclaimed the top spot after a four-year hiatus, toppling Mexico's telecommunications mogul Carlos Slim Helu, who placed second at $72 billion, Forbes said in announcing the list on Monday.

Amancio Ortega, the Spanish founder of clothing conglomerate Inditex SA (ITX.MC), which includes the Zara fashion chain, ranked third at $64 billion.

Mukesh Ambani, chairman of India's Reliance Industries, emerged as the richest Indian with a net worth of $18.6 billion, followed by ArcelorMittal's Lakshmi Mittal with a net worth of $16.7 billion. In global rankings, Ambani ranked 40th while Mittal ranked 52nd.

Gates has topped the list in 15 of the last 20 years.

A record 1,645 billionaires with a total net worth of $6.4 trillion made Forbes' list, up from 1,426 last year.

Just over 10 percent were female, with 172 women compared with 138 a year earlier.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) heiress Christy Walton was the highest-ranking woman, in ninth place, at $36.7 billion. France's Liliane Bettencourt, who got much of her wealth from cosmetics company L'Oreal SA (OREP.PA), was next among women at $34.5 billion, and ranked 11th overall.

Roughly two-thirds of the world's billionaires, or 1,080, were self-made. The United States had the most billionaires, with 492, followed by China at 152 and Russia at 111. Algeria, Lithuania, Tanzania and Uganda joined the list with one each.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Jan Paschal)

Trending On Reuters

REUTERS EXCLUSIVE

India's main public health programmes, aimed at millions of rural poor, have been in disarray for months because the government changed the way that over $1.3 billion in funds were distributed, according to data and letters seen by Reuters. Full Article | Graphic: India's health funding